Budapest Airport has signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese delivery company STO Express and Turkish 3PL Ekol Logistics, establishing a cargo transportation network to deliver e-commerce products from China to European customers.

According to Budapest Airport, STO Express will launch scheduled Boeing 747 freighter flights to Budapest, which the Chinese company has designated as its preferred hub for air cargo transportation in the Central and Eastern European region.

“On behalf of Budapest Airport, we warmly welcome this initiative by STO Express,” said Rene Droese [left in photo], director of property and cargo at Budapest Airport. “Export-import between China and Hungary, and the entire CEE region, plays an important role in our rapidly developing market. We believe that Budapest and Budapest Airport provide the best place for distribution by STO Express in the CEE region, and we will do our best to prove this in the near future. Our new air cargo base, Cargo City, will commence operations in the summer of 2019. It is noteworthy that, based on market data, e-commerce accounted for 4-5% of retail sales in Hungary this year, with 20% growth in this segment from January to June, compared to the same period last year. In terms of specific figures, this means online transactions of approximately US$600 million during the first half of 2017. E-commerce is thus clearly one of the areas with the greatest potential in the market, including air cargo.”

STO Express chartered a SW Italia Boeing 747 freighter to Budapest in November 2017, primarily carrying e-commerce goods.

Cargo traffic at Budapest Airport has increased by 36% since December 2015. From January to October 2017, the airport handled a record 103,800 tonnes of cargo, a year-on-year growth of 14.5%.